The throne room was a cathedral of arrogance.
Towering black pillars loomed along a path of crimson carpet, torchlight flickering against etched gold walls that whispered stories of tyranny. Shadows danced like phantoms upon the marbled floor, and the heavy scent of dried blood clung beneath the veil of perfumed incense, a masquerade for death.
And at the far end of this decadent tomb, they sat.
King de San.
Hair like flowing blood poured over his armored shoulders, each strand catching firelight as if it thirsted for more. Crimson eyes gleamed beneath a twisted obsidian crown, their sharpness betraying a mind honed on centuries of conquest. His regal plate was carved with ancient runes, each one a forgotten curse etched in arrogance. When he moved, it was with the control of a serpent waiting to strike.
Queen Gianna sat beside him, a living monument of dark majesty.
Silver hair cascaded down her back like moonlight on a corpse. Her gown shimmered, deep red like the fresh spill of life from a severed artery, draping her frame in a sinuous flood of allure. Her beauty was immortal. Her eyes, rubies of cruelty—emotionless, calculating, endless.
Before them, fifteen elite vampire guards.
Unmoving. Perfectly still. Their silence wasn't discipline, it was belief. Faith in their monarchs. Faith in immortality.
But even they felt it.
The shift.
A tremor beneath the surface of something coming, something inevitable.
A beat later, the King's voice sliced through the silence like frost through flesh.
"Gianna, tell me something…"
Casual. Measured. That made it worse.
"Yes, dear?" she answered with the airy affection of a noblewoman sipping wine while ordering a beheading.
He tilted his head slowly, crimson strands cascading like molten silk over his pauldron.
"How long have we reigned supreme over this village?"
She gave a soft hum, decadent and slow.
"Hmm..it's almost been fifty years now."
He nodded once. No pride. No vanity. Just cool certainty.
"I thought so."
"No one's gotten in our way. No one's stopped us." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. His voice dropped like a guillotine. "So why do these two think they can?"
Her smile curved like a dagger.
"Ignorance.." she purred. "Ignorance is bliss, after all, dear."
He chuckled—empty, humorless.
"I suppose so."
Then—
WHOOSH.
A gust of wind exploded into the throne room, the torches guttering wildly.
The guards moved as one, but too late.
Key and Speedy appeared in a blur of velocity and vengeance, side by side, standing at the edge of the carpet like divine judgment made manifest.
Speedy's aura blazed, gold and white Abyssal Energy radiating off her like a living storm.
Key stood calm, yet behind him the Void writhed. Dark tendrils coiling, his presence bending the space around him. Abyssal Energy pulsed at his feet like chained gods preparing to break free.
Their gazes locked onto the King and Queen.
Unyielding.
Unforgiving.
Unafraid.
Key's voice rang out—cutting, final.
"Killing your ass isn't ignorance…"
His tone was frostbitten rage.
"…it's a promise."
The King laughed.
Not forced.
Not mocking.
Real. Dark. Pleased.
"If there's one thing Lucien and Riven were right about…" he mused, eyes narrowing, "You are quite the jester."
That name..
Lucien. Riven.
Key and Speedy froze.
Recognition slammed into them like iron to the chest.
"Wait…" Key hissed. "You knew we were fighting them?"
Twin smirks curled the rulers' lips, predatory, gleaming.
The Queen's voice was honey-laced poison.
"We always know what happens in our village, darling. Especially when there's blood."
She twirled a lock of silver hair between dainty fingers.
"But caring? Now that we don't do."
Speedy stepped forward, aura flaring.
"Why?" she spat.
The King motioned to the palace floor with theatrical disdain.
"Because anyone we lose…" he said with a smirk, "…can always be replaced."
And then, he added the hook
"You've seen her body, haven't you?"
He didn't need to say more.
BOOM.
A sonic crack shattered the moment.
Speedy vanished.
Reappeared.
Behind him.
Golden light exploded.
A radiant dagger shimmered into her hand as she moved with blinding fury.
She struck.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Blood sprayed in arcs of red across the marble, the thrones, her own hands.
The King's body slumped forward—
Lifeless.
Or so it seemed.
But—
The Queen didn't move.
Neither did the guards.
Something was wrong.
Key's eyes dropped to the blood.
It shimmered. Thick. Dark. Pulsing with divine resonance.
'Blood of a Vampire Goddess..does that mean he can regenerate from just a drop?'
His breath caught.
He took a step forward, eyes narrowing
But he was too late.
Speedy didn't notice.
Consumed by adrenaline. By wrath.
"SPEED—!"
"Un-uh."
The sound was like a dagger to the spine.
A pale arm snaked around her throat.
The King.
Alive. Fresh. Smirking.
His grip was steel.
Her eyes widened in shock
"Speedy, huh?" he drawled with mock amusement. "We do love a fast woman, don't we, Gianna?"
"Mm," the Queen purred, gliding forward like a shadow in velvet. "Flawless skin. Such a waste to ruin it… but such a gift to remake it."
Her fingers reached out,
Hovering.
About to grasp Speedy's Breast—
ROARR.
A violet inferno erupted behind them.
The walls cracked.
The floor split.
The palace trembled.
The King and Queen were blasted away like leaves in a cosmic storm.
A storm made of pure Abyssal Void.
From within it—
Key emerged.
Eyes glowing with a terrible calm.
Void Tendrils curled at his side like stalking predators. Four in total, thicker, stronger, sharper than before. He launched forward.
The first punch hit an Alpha Vampire square in the chest.
His ribcage folded inward, imploded.
Then the Tendrils lashed out.
They pierced.
They devoured.
They screamed.
They fed.
[+1 Void Residue Absorbed]
[Carnivorous Void Tendrils has leveled up!]
[Carnivorous Void Tendrils LV.2 Unlocked!]
Purple-black lightning crackled across the battlefield as Key moved like judgment incarnate.
He was silent.
He was death.
Speedy gasped, collapsing to her knees, coughing violently.
But her eyes lit up,
Alive.
Breathless.
Because he came for her.
And not just that—
He was erasing everything in his way.
The King staggered, rage twisting his features.
"You dare—"
"Activate Blackhole."
Key spoke it.
No shout.
No fury.
Just divine intent.
The world groaned.
A low, ancient hum vibrated through the marble. Behind him, space ruptured, folded inward on itself. A swirling abyss bloomed, darkness condensed into a singularity of hunger.
The Blackhole had arrived.
Key turned his head slightly, never looking away from his enemies.
"Protect her."
The Tendrils obeyed.
Four snapped away from his side, coiling around Speedy like serpents of shadow, weaving into a dome of abyss.
They didn't bind her.
They sheltered her.
Inside, she knelt—trembling, heart racing, breath shallow.
But the Void around her was warm.
Comforting.
It knew her.
And it would kill for her.
Outside the barrier, the remaining fourteen vampire guards charged.
The Blackhole pulled—
The Void Tendrils waited.
Hungry.
Ferocious.
Unleashed.
The King and Queen dug their heels into the marble, Abyssal Energy coating their feet and calves to resist the pull of annihilation.
But even gods bleed when the Void comes calling.